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Accenture and Microsoft Expand Collaboration on Gen-AI Powered Cyber Solutions

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Accenture and Microsoft Expand Collaboration on Gen-AI Powered Cyber Solutions
News

News

Accenture and Microsoft Expand Collaboration on Gen-AI Powered Cyber Solutions

2025-07-10 19:59 Last Updated At:20:01

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 10, 2025--

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) are co-investing in the development of advanced generative AI-driven cyber solutions to help organizations mitigate threats and consolidate technology tools while optimizing operational costs.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250710375451/en/

According to Accenture’s State of Cyber Resilience 2025 report, the majority (90%) of organizations are not ready to protect against AI-augmented cyber threats. By combining Accenture’s cybersecurity services, AI transformation expertise and industry experience with Microsoft’s advanced security technologies, the companies are helping organizations protect against advanced threats through innovative cybersecurity offerings across four key areas. These include security operation center (SOC) modernization, automated data and AI security, security-centric cyber migration and consolidation, and enhanced identity and access management (IAM).

“Global cyber threats, now leveraging AI, are intensifying in speed, sophistication and scale. By adopting automation and gen AI solutions, organizations can reimagine their SecOps and outpace rising adversarial cyber threats,” said Paolo Dal Cin, global lead, Accenture Security. “The combined power of Accenture and Microsoft will help clients future-proof against potential cyber threats, keep critical data secure and enhance business resilience. This expanded relationship signals to the industry that we can be stronger together.”

Accenture and Microsoft successfully completed a project with Nationwide Building Society (Nationwide), the world's largest building society with over 17 million customers in the UK, to build on its cybersecurity operations. Through a large-scale migration to Microsoft Sentinel, Nationwide achieved a streamlined, unified security infrastructure that accelerates cyber threat detection. Nationwide benefited from a gen AI security information and event management capability, co-developed by Accenture and Microsoft, that accelerated the migration of hundreds of terabytes of data.

David Boda, chief security & resilience officer at Nationwide, said, “In a dynamic and complex threat environment, it’s important that we continue to build on our existing cybersecurity operations to stay ahead of the game. Accenture’s support in our migration to Microsoft Sentinel has been invaluable to set us up for success. The use of generative AI to enable the migration allowed us to deliver the change more efficiently, in turn freeing up capacity for wider improvement activities.”

The solutions Accenture and Microsoft are investing in co-developing include:

“We’re proud to be shaping the future of cybersecurity alongside Accenture, combining their deep industry insights with the breadth and strength of Microsoft’s security platform,” said Vasu Jakkal, corporate vice president of Microsoft Security. “In today’s fast-moving cyber threat landscape, organizations need solutions that simplify complexity and deliver end-to-end protection across on-premises and cloud environments. Security is a team sport–and together–Microsoft and Accenture are empowering customers with AI-driven, comprehensive solutions that help them stay ahead of evolving threats and unlock new levels of resilience.”

Learn more about Accenture and Microsoft or find out more about the Nationwide project in this video here.

For more information on Nationwide, please visit nationwide.co.uk.

About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 791,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com.

Accenture Security is a leading provider of end-to-end cybersecurity services, including strategy, protection, resilience and industry-specific cyber services. We bring security innovation, coupled with global scale and a worldwide delivery capability through our network of Cyber Fusion Centers. Helped by our team of 27,000 highly skilled professionals, we enable clients to innovate safely, build cyber resilience and grow with confidence. Visit us at accenture.com/security.

About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “aspires,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook,” “goal,” “target” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance nor promises that goals or targets will be met, and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, without limitation, that the use of AI could harm our business, damage our reputation or give rise to legal or regulatory action, as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.

[1]Microsoft Generative AI and Security Operations Center Productivity: Evidence From Live Operations
[2] Cost and workflow optimization numbers based on a combination of metrics from Accenture Security's delivery of services and other research

Copyright © 2025 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture and its logo are registered trademarks of Accenture.

Accenture and Microsoft Corporation are co-investing in the development of advanced generative AI-driven cyber solutions to help organizations mitigate threats and consolidate technology tools while optimizing operational costs.

Accenture and Microsoft Corporation are co-investing in the development of advanced generative AI-driven cyber solutions to help organizations mitigate threats and consolidate technology tools while optimizing operational costs.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Heavy rain and thunderstorms prompted a rare World Cup weather delay on Monday, when the halftime break during a match between France and Iraq lasted 2 hours, 10 minutes.

It was the first rain delay of the tournament and the first time in at least several decades that a World Cup match was delayed midgame because of inclement weather. Halftime began at 5:50 p.m. EDT and the game resumed at 8 p.m. — 1 hour, 55 minutes longer than the scheduled 15-minute halftime break.

France played through the rain and muck to beat Iraq 3-0 behind two goals from Kylian Mbappé.

“It’s a question of safety,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. “You can’t fight against rain and lightning. We will stick to the local laws. We have to adapt. These are very special circumstances, and I do hope they will not happen again.”

There was also heavy rain ahead of Monday night’s game between Norway and Senegal in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which started on time.

With France leading 1-0 at halftime, scoreboard messages directed the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field to take shelter in the stadium’s covered areas, warning that a severe storm was on the way. Sheets of rain fell through halftime as thousands of fans huddled in the concourse and under balconies.

The stoppage was initially expected to extend the halftime break by 15 minutes. As the delay dragged on, stadium officials announced that “the game will resume when deemed safe.”

The teams returned to the field to warm up after about 1 hour, 40 minutes, prompting cheers from the crowd. Crews used squeegees to push standing water toward the sideline of the swampy field.

A rule used by FIFA pauses games for 30 minutes if lightning is detected within 8 miles. Each strike resets the clock.

France and Iraq played through a downpour that started in the 37th minute. Fans donned ponchos and most stayed in their seats until they were told to find shelter at halftime.

“I think that’s out of our control, so we just needed to adapt, and I think we did that pretty well,” French defender Jules Kounde said.

France scored twice in the second half, which did not include the much-debated hydration break that was added for this tournament.

“I think it’s the first time I experienced it in football as a coach or a player,” Iraq coach Graham Arnold said of the delay. “It obviously made it much harder for the players. I told the players, who’s going to switch on mentally?”

FIFA long had a reputation for continuing matches even through extreme weather. A 2014 game between the U.S. and Germany continued in Brazil even after torrential downpour that flooded parts of the surrounding city.

World Cup regulations do not specify weather conditions that would prompt a delay to the start of matches or an interruption. However, the regulations say “in the case of a match being abandoned as a result of force majeure after it has already kicked off … the match shall recommence at the minute at which play was interrupted rather than being replayed in full, and with the same scoreline.”

AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston contributed to this report.

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

A photographer shelters from the rain as play is suspended during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A photographer shelters from the rain as play is suspended during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A sign advising fans of a weather delay is displayed during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

A sign advising fans of a weather delay is displayed during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Fans take cover from the rain during a thunderstorm warning in the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Fans take cover from the rain during a thunderstorm warning in the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Heavy rain falls during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Heavy rain falls during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

A sign advising fans of a weather delay is displayed during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A sign advising fans of a weather delay is displayed during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Fans wait in a sheltered area of the stadium as bad weather halts play during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Fans wait in a sheltered area of the stadium as bad weather halts play during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A general view of the stadium during a storm delay in the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A general view of the stadium during a storm delay in the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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